Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21.
The Kobayakawa family was in a great deal of trouble.
Like many other families, it was financial worries that frustrated them. The Kobayakawas were in a great deal of debt.
Oh, their debtors weren't loan sharks or anything. Sure, they could be a little unpleasant when the Kobayakawas were late in making payments. Still, it could have been a lot worse.
Due to this, the entire family had moved from their previous home to a smaller, less comfortable one. Sena had also ended up a farther distance from any school. He had originally wanted to go to Deimon, which was where Mamori-nee-chan went, but it seemed too far away now.
Besides, he wasn't sure if he could get in.
Being a good and helpful child, Sena had tried his best to do his share of providing for the family. He'd gotten a job.
He had become a construction worker, of all things.
It wasn't much, and Sena knew that the money he brought in was practically useless, but any amount made him feel as if he was helping.
Sena's job consisted primarily of lifting heavy things and setting them somewhere else, then lifting more heavy things. There were probably a lot of technicalities and complications involved, but he was usually too exhausted to care.
"Look, boy, are you sure you want to do this?" One of the older workers – they were all older than he was, funny enough – offered him a hand up and a towel.
Sena just laid on the ground, too exhausted to move. "Do what? Um, no thanks."
"I know we hired you for about a week more, but you're… really not suited to this kind of work."
"Are you firing me?" Sena squeaked, horrified. This was his first job! He had to do well, and it was pretty much the only place where he could get work right now. Thankfully, there was still a while before school began and there were very few places that would hire workers – student workers, at that – for just a few weeks.
"No, it's just… isn't carrying stuff too much for you?" the nice fellow worker inquired, obviously worried. Sena remembered his name now: Gen, the other workers called him. He seemed to be in charge of them to some extent. He looked much older than Sena and he had the kind of bulging muscles that Sena had always wished that he himself possessed.
Mamori-nee-chan always told him that as long as he ate healthy food, he'd grow up to be big and strong too.
Well, at least she didn't use baby speak.
"I can do it," Sena insisted stubbornly. "Besides, I need this job."
"Yeah, it's just that there are easier ways to earn money, you know?"
"Like what, Gen-san?"
"Well, for example… you're pretty fast. I've seen you run; you could use that." Sena winced. He knew when Gen had seen him run. Once, he'd thrown up while working and messed up someone else's shoes. The guy's pants had also ended up in bad shape, if he remembered correctly. In the end, Sena had run around for an hour before losing the other guy. He'd screamed apologies, too, but it hadn't seemed to do much good.
Well, he was pretty used to running from people.
"In a race?"
"Yeah. Or some sort of competition, like… football. You could probably tell someone that you'd play if you got money for it, that sort of thing."
"Who would pay for something like that?" Sena asked incredulously.
"You're in high school, right? I can think of a few people with high school football teams who'd pay for your legs," Gen-san said grimly. From his expression, Sena thought that he was thinking of someone very specific. He decided not to ask.
"M-maybe. But for now, I'd like to work here, please."
"Keep it up, kiddo," Gen chuckled, ruffling his hair. Sena decided that he rather liked the feeling.
Sena kept on working for the entirety of the weeks that he had signed up for. By the time school was about to start again, he thought he might have developed some tiny bicep muscles.
At least he wasn't fainting from exhaustion anymore.
Another bonus was that when it was time to check the results of the entrance exams, Sena had an idea for how he would earn more money.
A/N: For anyone who's curious, I don't think I'll let Sena go to Deimon.